


5:32 a.m

by stargazerjoseph



Category: Twenty One Pilots
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-08-27
Updated: 2016-08-27
Packaged: 2018-08-11 08:30:35
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,926
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7884025
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/stargazerjoseph/pseuds/stargazerjoseph
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Tyler sees him, he knows. He knew those eyes were the only eyes. The only ones that would ever make him happy again.</p>
            </blockquote>





	5:32 a.m

Tyler rolled over with a groan. His alarm clock beckoning for his awakening. He let out a long, drawn out sigh and proceeded to sit up in his bed. The room was illuminated by the light that fought through the blinds, and the sheets that draped over the mattress smelled of a musky vanilla. Tyler stood up and began to walk down the hall. The small apartment above the coffee shoppe Jenna owned was just enough to squeeze in one person. It consisted of a bathroom, bedroom, and the smallest kitchen you would have ever seen. You couldn't even open the oven without it almost touching the refrigerator that sternly sat across from it. Well, not like Tyler ever bothered to cook, but if he decided to, he sure as hell would have had a tough time trying. He walked over and grabbed himself a water bottle, and then found himself back down the hall. This time he was putting on a shirt, and pants. His red socks lit up from his black jeans, and black sleeveless button up that laid over his frame. He looked into the mirror, fidgeted around with his hair for a little, and then proceeded to bite the inside of his cheek and walk away. He made his way down the steps and into the shop. 

"Morning Tyler, just black again?" Jenna said with a bubbly tone.   
"Please, and thank you" He said grimly.   
"You okay T?"   
"I'm quite tired, but other than that I'm doing okay"  
"Alright. Hey, I'll text you the work schedule tomorrow for next week! You should have slept in today! You know you have the day off, right?" She asked while handing him over a white coffee cup.   
"Yeah" he started, "I wanted to go check out that music store, you know the one that is always a little empty, has tons of rows of CD's, and records, its just a few streets down. I mean, don't know, I kinda thought it might be cool to check out I guess" he rambled.   
"Okay, yeah no worries." Jenna said with a forming smile. "Just make sure you text me if you need anything" she said as Tyler began to start out the door.   
"I will, see you later Jen" he said as the cool fall air hit his skin, it sent shivers down his spine. 

Jenna Black had been Tyler's best friend since his childhood, they went as far back as Tyler can remember. A couple of years ago, just before their senior year had ended, Jenna's father gave her a storefront as an 'early graduation gift'. Jenna had known she wanted her own café since her freshmen year, when she had heard about how a couple met at a coffee shop, fell in love, got married, and all that sap. Jenna was a total sucker for love. She was a bubbly, positive, kind person. She had constantly supported Tyler, even when nobody else did. Above the coffee shop, there were two, very compact, one person apartments. As soon as she found out about the new living space, Jenna immediately offered Tyler the apartment. She knew he needed to escape the toxic household he had been in his entire life. Obviously, he had taken the opportunity right when it was brought to the table. Jenna had then also asked him to work at the café as a favor, because she needed employees, because as much as she would have loved to do it on her own, she knew she couldn't. Tyler gladly accepted, and this system had been working well for a while now. 

Leaves rustled across the ground, as Tyler began to talk north. Taking the back streets was not only quicker, but also supplied him with an incredible view. The golden trees enclosed on him, until the road became wider, and cars were soon seen again. Then the beaten down record store was insight. The outside consisted of one car in the parking lot that was now covered in leaves, a dark black sign with the red lettering "M.E MUSIC", and crystal clear display windows that gave you a sight view of the inside of the shop. As Tyler approached the store, he inhaled deeply, getting in one last breath of the crisp air before entering the slightly warmer building. 

Pulling on the door, he stepped one foot inside, with the next following close behind. Tyler glanced around for a few seconds, taking quick notice to the interesting, and organized layout of the shop. The paying counter was at the back, or so he assumed. The rest of the store was filled with sorted CD's, vinyls, cassette tapes, and a selective section for instruments. Initially he had rummaged through the different records that were on display, grabbing one or two. Silence filled the entire room, but Tyler didn't mind. Nobody else was in the store, simply him. He then began to stroll towards the instruments, which sat maybe 10 feet diagonally to the right of the counter. Just as Tyler turned the corner on the last row of CD's, he stopped dead in his tracks. His jaw slightly tilted open, his eyes widened, and refused to lose gaze of the boy sitting behind the counter. His scruffy blue hair had just fallen a little over his forehead, his incredibly angelic hands lightly grazed over top of the computers keys, his mocha eyes could have had anyone mesmerized forever, and the way his chest rose and fell again as he breathed was the most beautiful sight Tyler had ever seen. His heart had stopped, as soon as the boy looked up, he had stared for a second, but then he gave Tyler a smile. The corners of his deep brown eyes crinkled when he smiled, and he let out a small, almost embarrassed like laugh as soon as he saw Tyler. Tyler could have only heard that sound for the rest of his life, and been entirely okay with it. 

"oh, oh woah, hey man!" the blue haired boy let out in a quiet, but very eager voice.   
"um, h-hi" Tyler managed to choke out.   
"Is there anything you need?-" cutting himself off, he proceeded "wait that came out wrong.. I mean like, is there anything I can help you with, or um.. find?" he let out, with another embarrassed laugh.   
"oh, um, well, I mean, I don't t-think so" his voice making a small crack on the word oh.   
"Alright.." he began as Tyler still in shock, put his head down and walked over to the instruments. "Do you play at all, like play any instruments?" he questioned.  
Tyler wanted to shrink, but he also wanted to scream because he was angry at himself for not being able to look at the boy without his cheeks turning into a sea of red. "well.. I mean.. no.. well.. not, really" he spit out in an uncomfortable manner. 

Tyler had wanted so badly to know this guy. His name, what he loves, what makes him happy, if he saw tyler and thought the sam-; Tyler cut off his mind set right there. You're getting way ahead of yourself, he thought. It's okay dude, you don't know this guy. yeah for course I would give anything to just sit and look at him forever, but you don't know him, things might change. As much as he had been trying to cram these thoughts into his head, as if it were going to change the fact that he could barely talk around this guy, it didn't work. Especially when the blue haired, mocha eyed boy stood up and walked around from behind the counter, to where Tyler was standing in front of the array of instruments. Tyler swallowed down every nerve he had inside of him. 'calm down, be cool' he repeatedly said to himself in his head. Just then, he heard that voice again, that voice of happiness and everything that was wonderful about life. 

"Not really huh? Well I would lo-love to know more about that." he said with a slight stutter on the word love. He began to stretch out his hand to Tyler "I'm J-Josh by the way" he said with another stutter. He realized that his stutters and speech slip ups were becoming more and more noticeable. "I am also pretty antsy today, well I guess" he choked out with a laugh, even though Tyler could tell he didn't necessarily say that voluntarily, it was more of a justification.   
"I, I am Josh" "wait" "shit" "oh wait i didn't mean that either, I meant" "fuck" he mumbled under his breath. Before Tyler could even finish fixing what he had messed up Josh had already made a quiet laugh at it.   
"We're both a little antsy today, huh, 'Josh'?" he said with a louder laugh this time. This made Tyler laugh too, and quite honestly fall even more in love with Josh.   
"Yeah I guess so" he said in a tiny voice. Josh finally stopped the quiet giggling and bit his bottom lip, pretty hard too.   
"Anyways, what do you mean not really?" Josh began "because not really could either mean you tried and never picked up on it, or you think you're no good at the instrument when really you're incredible" he said with a hopeful grin that Tyler would show him something, anything at all.   
"Well, I mean.. I play a little bit of pian-" before Tyler could even finish his sentence he was cut off by Josh  
"piano? I just so happen to have one of those with your name on it, which I didn't quite catch, what would it happen to be" Josh said with more confidence than last time.   
"oh, I am Tyler.. and I mean I really am not that great, I don't even learn songs I kinda write my o-" once again Tyler was cut off by Josh.   
"Well, Tyler. That makes it ten time more enjoyable. Play anything you'd like. Anything at all"  
Tyler had never loved anything more than the way Josh's lips had formed his name so perfectly. It rolled off his tongue as if it were made for only Josh to speak. Tyler never wanted to stop hearing Josh's voice. 

Tyler's palms began to sweat, and his lungs filled with air as he pressed down on a few of the keys. Playing the chord C major, followed by an A minor, Tyler began to forget about everything else besides the cotton candy haired boy, Josh. He played for a good minute, as Josh sat on the ground, criss cross style, simply looking up at him with a dropped jaw. Tyler closed the song with a long, drawn out E minor, and Josh remained motionless. Tyler closed his eyes, taking in a deep breath, in hopes josh was still there, and didn't leave. He looked down from the piano bench to see the boy sitting there staring at him. His eye fixated right into Tyler's. If Tyler was able to stop time, he would right now. He would stop time forever if it meant never leaving josh's eyes. 

"T-Tyler.. you.. wow.. that was... wow" Josh rambled out with a crack in his voice on Tyler's name.   
"I know, I'm not great or anything, really I'm Not even g-" Tyler started, but was cut almost a whole word off by josh.   
"no, no Ty that was incredible. You should stop by and play for me more often, I actually kinda really hope you do" Josh said, with a light flush of rose on his cheeks.   
"Thank you so much, seriously thank you. I mean I play every now and then but it's not a big deal.." Tyler could have played for Josh forever, if thats what it meant to never lose the slight of him, or his eyes, or the way the corners crinkle up when he smiled. As much as Tyler wanted to keep playing for Josh, he also was very unassured about his music, and therefore he couldn't. So he made quite the attempt to change the subject. 

"But anyways, yeah I am just down the street so I mean I'll stop by more and buy records."   
"Stop by more even when you aren't, please" josh mumbled, not intended for Tyler to hear, but he just so happened to. Tyler tried to act like his cheeks were not lit up with cheery red excitement, but there was no way around it. So he just smiled, and Josh let out a gentle giggle as he lifted himself up from the dark carpet. He began to walk towards the front again slowly, in hopes Tyler would follow along.   
"So, just down the street, huh?" Josh said as Tyler approached the counter with two records clutched to his right side.   
"Um, yeah. Actually I walked here. Would you happen to know where the café on oakland is?" Tyler said in hopes Josh might start showing up.   
"yeah i actually do! Do you work there or?" Josh said with question, drawing out the or.   
"yeah, I also live in the apartment above it, i guess you could call me an owner in a sense, it is kinda confusing.. My friend jenna owns it, but were like pretty close, so she wanted me to run it with her, and i kinda get cheap living" Tyler said with a giggle. Joshes smile kinda dropped when Tyler mentioned Jenna.   
"oh, thats cool" he said trying to sound as enthusiastic as possible when he kinda just got crushed into two.   
"Yeah haha, jenna has been looking for a girlfriend for so long, all she wants is one. She loves the idea of love" Tyler said with an emphasis on the word girlfriend. Josh's face perked up  
"Oh!! that's sick! Well I will definitely stop by and visit, as long as you promise to stop by and visit me too" Josh said with rose kissed cheeks.   
"yeah Josh, I certainly will." Tyler added. He set the records up on the counter, and Josh began to ring them up, he had wished he hadn't, so that they would have talked longer, but this also left them with more to discuss next time. 

"Oh hey and Ty" Josh said as he turned around to walk out the door. Tyler not only was beyond happy Josh said something so he had an excuse to see his beautifully sculpted face once more, but his heart also fluttered at the nickname 'Ty'.   
"yeah, Josh?"  
"Thank you, I haven't been this happy in a while." He said with a smile. Tyler hadn't felt genuine love or happiness in a while either.   
"Thank you too, I haven't felt his genuinely happy in a long time either J." Tyler said with a smile as he turned around and walked out of the store. He had to have been in there for an hour or two. Time flew by when he was with Josh, everything was okay. It was all butterflies and happy and good, and it felt like safety, and Tyler never wanted to lose that feeling. Ever. 

Tyler raced home to tell Jenna everything. He practically fell in the door as he sprinted up to the barista counter.   
"Woah, what happened to you?" Jenna asked, half joking, and half out of genuine concern.   
"Jenna I went to the music store and I saw the most beautiful boy and he had bright blue hair and this little nose piercing that shined when he tilted his head, and his eyes, oh man Jen you can't even get me started on his eyes" he inhaled deeply again " They were like pools of mocha happiness and love and the corners crinkled up when he smiled and he was so nice and so sweet Jen and I don't know what to do because I am utterly in love with him and he was so perfect and so great and he made me so happy and his name was Josh" he stopped to take yet again, another huge gasp of air, and then he began again "and when he said my name I felt a tingle go down my spine because it sounded like he was made to be saying it and now I can't stop thinking about him Jenna he was so much happiness so much love and safety Jenna help" Tyler said throwing his head into his crossed arms that laid on the counter. 

"Woah Tyler, that is a lot for me to take in at once. So you like this Josh guy a lot, who you just met at the music store?" She said quizzically.   
"Yes Jenna, I love him, he was so prefect I can't begin to explain it to you" Tyler let out with a long sigh.   
"Okay Ty, it seems like you really need a minute to collect your thoughts, so go upstairs and take a nice long shower, clam down, and then please, come and share all about your cute little boyfriend" Jenna said with a giggle.   
"Josh is not my boyfriend, but I will take you up on that offer of the shower." Tyler said as he skipped up the steps. 

His heart was still beating out of his chest. He didn't understand how one person could be so perfect, so important to him. Josh was safety, Josh was like home, and he wanted to feel that surrounding him at all times. Tyler would give anything to hug him, and feel that embrace. anything in this world.


End file.
